NFL Network just dropped the news, and wow, what a decision out of Cleveland: Deshaun Watson is officially the Browns’ starting quarterback for Week 1, bumping Shedeur Sanders to the backup role. After all the talk throughout training camp and preseason, the veteran is getting the nod.
Watson’s Big Return and Sanders’ Wild Ride
This has been the burning question in Cleveland for months, hasn’t it? Watson or Sanders? Watson is finally back and presumably healthy, taking the reins for the first time since 2024. Remember, he missed all of 2025 recovering from a second surgery on his torn Achilles, an injury he suffered way back on Oct. 20, 2024. This job is his, the one he got on that fully guaranteed, five-year, $230 million contract signed in 2022, which is now in its final season.
Sanders, meanwhile, only got his chance to start in his rookie 2025 season because Watson was sidelined. The dude was a fifth-round NFL Draft pick who ended up starting seven games and making eight appearances. Get this: he even made the Pro Bowl as a late substitute! Now, his stats were a bit rough, with 10 interceptions against seven touchdowns, 1,400 yards passing, and a 56.6% completion rate. But a fifth-rounder making the Pro Bowl as a rookie, even as a substitute? That’s a story on its own!
A Complicated Tenure in Cleveland
Watson’s journey in Cleveland has been nothing short of a roller coaster, filled with more twists and turns than a Seattle mountain road. Before the Achilles tear in 2024, which limited him to seven starts that season, his Browns tenure was already a continuation of a really complicated run. He was a Pro Bowler three straight times with the Houston Texans from 2018 through 2020. But then came the entire 2021 season missed due to a trade request and multiple serious allegations of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct by over two dozen women, leading to as many civil lawsuits that didn’t even wrap up until 2024.
He was suspended 11 games in 2022 for those allegations, making his Browns debut in Week 13 after the team acquired him from the Texans in a March trade. He definitely looked like a QB who hadn’t played in a couple of years, far from the guy who led the NFL in passing yards in 2020. Then, rotator cuff injuries in 2023 limited both his production and playing time. All told, with the Browns, Watson has started and appeared in 19 games, throwing for 3,365 yards with 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. It’s been a lot, right?
Performance, Fan Reactions, and The Path Ahead
The plot thickened this past weekend, too. Watson was booed by Browns fans for his performance against the Buffalo Bills. He even talked postgame about how those very same fans cheered when he tore his Achilles in 2024. That’s a rough scene to deal with. And to pour salt in the wound, Sanders actually outperformed Watson in that Bills game, going 8-for-11 with a touchdown and a pick, plus 74 yards passing. The Browns do have Dillon Gabriel and Tayler Green in the QB room, but everyone knew this battle was always between Watson and Sanders.
So here we are. It’s Watson leading the Browns into Week 1. What a way to start the season, with so much history, so many injuries, and a recent performance against the Bills that sparked fan frustration. The team’s made its call, and now the entire season hinges on whether this decision, after everything, pays off.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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